[Interview] Celebrating Nostalgia with Neeraj Kakkar, CEO, Paper Boat

What inspired the childhood theme of Paper Boat’s latest integrated marketing campaign? What went into promotion of the social media video?

The inspiration for all our marketing campaigns has been our drinks themselves – the time they come from, the rich associations they bear.

How difficult or easy is it to promote a beverage brand on social media? As a fairly new brand, how would you compare social and traditional marketing?

It’s quite a challenge, but we’re confident about our differentiation. We’ve created a whole new space of ethnic beverages, and that itself has sparked off some interest. The appeal of our drinks and the personal connection our consumers have with their recipes, have also added to the mix.

We’ve been among the first few Indian brands to gain huge traction from social media – social media is our mainstay, in that sense.

For us, social been a huge canvas to experiment with storytelling – without the costs and risks of traditional marketing. Traditional Marketing, for us, has been an amplifying tool, and a next step – a means to reach more people than Social possibly could.

Which platform do you think has the highest ROI? Are you platform agnostic?

We’re largely platform agnostic, because each platform allows its own variety of storytelling. We approach each with the mindset of, “what fun can we have here?”

How much percentage of budget is allocated for social media under marketing?

Our total marketing budget is 10cr., and we try to maximise this across all media – not just social.

If you had to use advanced technology to promote on social media which one would be your pick and why – augmented reality, RFID, gamification.

This one’s a toughie – because we’re a brand that loves to innovate. Augmented Reality would definitely help us achieve that dimension of tactile that we want to bring to the presentation of memories. RFID is perfect for customizing each of our experiences for each of our consumers. Gamification is perfectly in line with our objectives of being a playful brand. Give us some time, we’ll get back to you about our favorite after a little inky-pinky-ponky!